“When you were in the hospital, Leonie Summer’s car was stolen,” Florence says, shaking her head with disbelief. “It was parked right in front of the house, near the gates. The bodyguards on duty that night say they were all at their posts, but somehow none of them saw the thief.”
“It’s just a car,” Waylen says with a shrug. “Buy Leonie, another one.” He turns to Leilani, puts his hands around her waist, and says, “You look tired. Do you want to go to bed?”
Leilani looks over Waylen’s shoulder at Florence. The older woman scowls at her and Leilani looks away. She hates Florence, but she doesn’t want to get involved in a fight with the older woman.
“Yes, I’m really tired,” she says. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go upstairs now.”
Waylen nods and kisses her forehead, and she climbs the stairs. About halfway up the staircase, she pauses and leans over the banister to listen to the conversation below.
“Our house is heavily guarded, and it would’ve been very risky for someone to steal Leonie’s car,” Florence says. “They must have had a good reason to do it. It’s not like her car is even worth that much—it’s just a BMW. I think they were testing our security, looking for weaknesses. Who knows what they’ll do next time?”
“It’s just a stolen car,” Waylen repeats. “If you’re so concerned about it, call the police. I’m sure they can track it down on the black market. I don’t know why you need the video surveillance—it’s not like you’re going to recognize the thief yourself, Grandma.”
“It’s not about the car, Waylen,” Florence says. “The thief did this while you were in the hospital. I think he plotted for a long time. Now that he knows how to get past our security, he might try to steal something more valuable. Or maybe he’ll try to kill us. Do you know how often I’m all alone in this big house? It’s dangerous.”
“I’ll increase security, but you’re never all alone Grandma,” Waylen says. “We have dozens of bodyguards to protect you. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m tired, and I’d like to go to bed.”
Leilani straightens up and starts to climb the stairs again. She doesn’t want Waylen to catch her eavesdropping. She’s only climbed three stairs when she hears Florence shout, “Wait!”
Leilani freezes, thinking the woman is shouting at her. But she quickly realizes that Florence is shouting at Waylen. Leilani pauses, waiting to see what Waylen will do. She hears him sigh loudly.
“Waylen, you don’t know what the bodyguard’s gossip about when you’re away from home,” Florence says.
“What do they gossip about?” Waylen asks, sounding annoyed.
“They say there was a suspicious car parked in front of the mansion gates,” Florence says. “They say it was a Bugatti or some sort of luxury brand like that. And they say it was there all night.”
Leilani feels her blood run cold. She suddenly understands why Florence is so pushy about the surveillance footage: the Bugatti is Andrew’s car, and Florence wants to make Waylen jealous. I bet Leonie’s car wasn’t even stolen, Leilani thinks. Florence just wants Waylen to watch the security footage, so he’ll get suspicious. She’s trying to drive a wedge into our relationship again.
“A suspicious car?” Waylen asks. “Why didn’t the bodyguards check to see who was inside?”
“I don’t know,” Florence says. “I’m too old to get involved in these types of things. Besides, as you can see, the bodyguards never listen to me. I just mentioned it to you because Leonie’s car was stolen, and I was worried.”
“Robert, get me the tapes,” Waylen shouts.
Leilani runs the rest of the way up the stairs and into Waylen’s bedroom. She takes off the tight red dress and changes into a silk nightgown. Then she washes her face and takes her hair down. She pulls the blankets back on the bed and slides into the soft cotton sheets.
A pile of books on the nightstand catches her eyes—they’re the same books that Robert and Waylen hid from her. She leans against the headboard and grabs the books. She’s expecting to see books about history, wars, and the economy; instead, they’re all self-help books.
The first one is called “How To Be A Good Husband.” The next is called “What To Expect When Your Wife Is Expecting.” The third is called “Fatherhood: A Guide To Being A Great Dad.” Leilani can’t believe her eyes. She opens the first book and flips through its pages. One page is wrinkled and covered in red pen marks. It looks like Waylen has underlined and circled different sentences.
She reads the first: “A good husband treats his wife as a family member. He makes an effort to show that her family is his family too.” She immediately thinks about Waylen promising to visit Nanny every week in the hospital.
Then she reads: “A good husband can prepare a delicious and romantic meal for his wife all by himself.” She remembers the meals he has tried to cook for her and his serious determination in the kitchen.
Next, she reads: “It goes without saying that a good husband is always loyal to his wife.” Leilani looks down at the new tattoo on her arm and thinks about Waylen’s determination to prove his loyalty to her.
Finally, she reads: “A good husband surprises his wife.” She thinks about all of the gifts he’s given her and the romantic proposal he planned, and she begins to cry.
He’s trying so hard to be a good husband, but I’m planning on leaving him, she thinks. I love him so much, but I don’t deserve him.
Leilani’s tears fall slowly onto the page. The red ink blurs and runs, and she snaps the book shut before she ruins anything else. Her phone buzzes and she tries to read the text through her tears. She sees it’s from Andrew, and her heart sinks. She wipes her eyes and reads the message: “When shall I pick you up?”
She starts to type a response but then stops. She deletes the message from Andrew and locks her phone. She reaches for a tissue on the nightstand and wipes her eyes. She’s about to walk to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face when the doors fly open.
“Mrs. Bamford, Mr. Bamford is in the study, and he’s gone into a rage,” a servant says. “He hit Robert really hard. Please go see if you can calm him—everyone else is too scared to even walk past the room.”
Leilani slides her feet into her slippers, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. I guess he saw the video, she thinks. But why is he so mad about the car? For all he knows, Andrew was just stalking me. Do the videos show me getting out of the car, too?
She walks down the stairs and finds that the door of his study is to open a crack. She pushes it wider and steps into the room. Books have been thrown all over the room, and the floor is covered in shards of glass and cigarette ash from Waylen’s crystal ashtray. Robert stands in a corner. His suit is rumpled, and a dark bruise is already appearing around his left eye.
A projector screen in the corner glows brightly in the dim room. The image on the screen makes Leilani’s scalp prickle with sweat. The picture looks like a screenshot from one of the surveillance tapes.
It’s a closeup of a dark, tinted car window. Inside the car, a man and woman seem to be locked in a passionate embrace. Leilani recognizes herself and Andrew in the picture.
“What are you doing down here?” Waylen asks, his voice creepily flat. “You’re tired, and you should be in bed.”
Leilani continues to stare at the screen in horror. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Waylen grab the remote, and then the screen goes dark. She looks at Waylen and feels her heart sink. His hair is messy, and his eyes are bloodshot, but his face is weirdly emotionless.
“Waylen, we can talk about this,” Leilani says.
“No, you should go upstairs and rest,” Waylen says. “I know you’re tired, and I’m tired too. We can talk tomorrow.”
Leilani wants to run across the room and stroke Waylen’s arm. She wants to tell him about that night and the way Andrew forced her to kiss him, but she’s too scared to move. Waylen has never been this calm before, she thinks. It’s like he’s lost his mind—it would almost be better if he yelled or accused me of cheating.
“Listen to me,” Leilani says. “That image is—”
Waylen interrupts her, “Yes, Leilani, I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this picture. Maybe he tricked you. Or forced you?”
Leilani bites her lip and digs her nails into her palm. She wants to tell him everything, but she’s not sure what good it would do. I’m going to leave with Andrew soon, she thinks. Isn’t it worse if I tell Waylen I love him and give him false hope? Maybe it’ll be easier for him to move on if he thinks I was cheating all along.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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